I pressed my lips together and sucked in a breath. So far, people she had trusted whom I’d considered sinister, like Master Fosco and General Thornicroft, had proven themselves to be committed to Mount Fornax.
“Please!” cried the troll. “Cendrilla wouldn’t want me to die like this.”
“What should I do?” Evolene wrung her hand.
I swallowed hard. General Thornicroft’s face turned the color of ash. If we did nothing, he would die. But if we released Master Jesper, the troll might kill him. My thoughts kept going round and round, making me dizzy. I shook them loose. “Let it go, but if it does anything strange, we’ll kill it.”
Evolene’s eyes widened, but she squared her shoulders and gave me a sharp nod before pointing her staff at Master Jesper.
“Thank you!” it exclaimed.
The bands of magical restraints around the troll dissolved. It flexed its shoulders and broke the leather straps with a loud snap.
Leaping onto my feet, I unsheathed my Parched Sword and tried to push my magic into its hilt. Nothing happened, but I scowled down at the seated troll. “This sword can burn through magic. Hurt General Thornicroft, and no amount of magical barriers will stop me from hurting you back.”
“A-and I’ll help!” Evolene pointed her staff at its throat.
“I...” Master Jesper gulped. It straightened its cloak with the dignity of someone who hadn’t just suffered a bout of torture. “I understand. Please allow me to retrieve my staff and put General Thornicroft in a healing coma.”
“W-which incantation will you use?” asked Evolene.
“Sanna Somno,” it replied.
She gave the troll a grim nod and levitated it staff from across the room.
I pointed my sword at the troll’s head, hoping it wouldn’t see through my bluff.
Master Jesper took its staff from Evolene and bathed General Thornicroft in the kind of brilliant, yellow light I’d seen being used by Witch Doctors. But without an aptitude for witch magic, I couldn’t tell if this enchantment would do him harm.
“Evolene?” I asked.
She nodded. “It’s the right one.”
“I am a troll of my word,” replied Master Jesper.
“Put the staff down,” I said. “Now.”
Master Jesper hesitated and was about to say something, when Evolene pulled the staff away with her magic. The troll’s shoulders slumped. “I needed that for my protection.”
I glanced at the door. “Madam Maritimus should have arrived by now. Do you think she’s busy fighting the assassins?”
“Something must have happened,” said Evolene. “A witch should have been able to overpower a group of people holding crossbows.”
“We’d better call the palace.” I glanced at the portrait of Aunt Cendrilla and her purple dragon, Fogo, which concealed a communication mirror. Master Fosco had used it in my presence the second time he had expelled me, but I couldn’t work out what kind of magic he had used to activate it. “Do you know how that works?”
Evolene raised her shoulders. “Master Fosco never showed me.”
“If I may?” asked Master Jesper.
I narrowed my eyes. “How would you know how it works?”
“This uses a technology developed by the Snow Queen to communicate with her operatives.”
My insides cringed. Even though Master Jesper had been true to its word, the mere mention of the monster who had terrorized the Known World sent a tremor of fear through my bones. I pushed my reservations aside and nodded at Evolene to return its magical implement.
It flew through the air, and Master Jesper pressed the staff’s glowing tip to the golden frame, the troll said, “Palace.”
The marble walls of Aunt Cendrilla’s throne room appeared within the frame. As expected, the golden throne sat empty, but there were no papers on the tables, and no one occupied Father’s silver throne or the other chairs. The servants who usually stood around the room were also missing.
“Hello?” I asked.
A wooly-haired ogress, whose horns curled like those of a sheep, stepped into the frame and furrowed her brow. “Your Highness? Is anything the matter?”
She probably thought I was one of the twins because few of the palace staff acknowledged my title. “I need to speak to the Prince Regent.”
Oliveri stepped into the frame and scowled, making the horns on his brow even more prominent. “Who, may I ask am I addressing?”
“It’s Alba,” I muttered. My gaze slid to Master Jesper, who could see through magical glamours for reasons I wasn’t ready to consider. “Is Father there?”
“The Prince Regent is at the Senate, challenging a vote of no confidence.”
My breath caught. “What?”
“Apparently, the Noble Houses are displeased with his handling of the situation with the locusts and the civilian witch riots.”
“But those were caused by fairy artifacts!”
Oliveri’s lips thinned over his tusks. “I believe that is how he explained the situation.”
“Is the Witch General with him?”
He nodded. “She and her lieutenants are seconding his duels, ensuring that rogue elements do not attempt an ambush or an assassination.”
My insides squirmed. Poor Father. No wonder he had sent Mother and me away during Aunt Cendrilla’s last pregnancy. Jealous noblemen would never stop opposing him as long as there was a half-human Prince Regent.
“Is anyone else around?” I asked. “There’s an assassin here at Mount Fornax, and—”
A Magical Militia witch stepped into the frame. Her black uniform was piped with red, indicating her rank of a Major. “Your Highness, Dr. Duclair and Madam Maritimus have kept us abreast of a plague that has spread from dragons to the warriors. The first few witches have succumbed to the disease.”
“That’s impossible!” I cried.
She raised a brow. “As you are aware, witches are also ogre-hybrids, and therefore susceptible to many conditions that affect males. I have placed Mount Fornax under quarantine until the matter is resolved.”
A bolt of shock hit me in the chest, drawing all the blood from my face, and I turned to Evolene, whose features had gone slack. It took a moment for my lungs to start working. “Can’t you send anyone?”
“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but help will not be arriving. The Militia is outside the wards, adding an additional layer of protection around the Mount Fornax territory.”
“But you can’t! There are—”
“Please stay safe.” She cut off the communications, returning the frame back to its original portrait.
“We’d better get General Thornicroft to the Healer’s Academy building in case Dr. Duclair can help,” said Evolene.
My insides squirmed, and I swallowed. I wished I could share her optimism after hearing from that Major, but I’d seen how quickly the warriors had caught the plague. By the time we took the General across the lawn, Dr. Duclair and all the other healers might be too sick to work on his heart.
I glanced at the unconscious quarter-giant and sighed. Even if the healers had succumbed to the plague, we had to remove him from the reception before the assassins tried to finish killing him. I turned to Evolene. “Can you work out a way to restrain Master Jesper. It’s going to be our prisoner.”
“You wouldn’t leave me without a means of protection,” said Master Jesper.
“Why?”
“Those people are trying to kill me, not the General.”
Evolene shook her head. “I-it doesn’t look that way to me.”
The troll closed its eyes and let out a long, frustrated breath. “Then why did they keep shooting after they’d shot General Thornicroft through the heart?”
I gripped the hilt of my sword. “Because they wanted to kill Evolene and me. Besides, how do you explain them missing such a large target?” When Master Jesper didn’t reply, I said, “They want General Thornicroft dead so they can control Mount Fornax.”
“You
will not tie me up,” it said in a tone as heavy as a boulder.
I pointed the tip of my Parched Sword at the troll’s throat. “You’re coming with us.”
Its eyes tracked the gauge in the middle of the blade, and realization flashed across the creature’s mercury eyes. While sharp objects could not penetrate its thick hide, dragon fire could burn it into cinders.
“Please, dear children, listen to me. One or more persons out there wants to cause my demise. If you wish to end this plague, I might be your only chance.”
“W-we don’t believe you!” Evolene brandished her staff.
“You’re not getting your staff back,” I added.
The troll raised both palms. “Think this through. That assassin just tried to kill me.”
My gaze darted to where General Thornicroft lay in a healing bubble. “I think he wanted to get rid of our last defense.”
“Look at the tip of the bolt.” It said. “Do you see the gray liquid? It’s trollsbane.”
I glanced at Evolene, but she shrugged.
Master Jesper let out an annoyed huff. “Now look at the substance on the desk. General Thornicroft used trollsbane to torture me into a confession, and that same trollsbane is coating the bolts. Perhaps the assassin wanted to kill the General, but I was also his target.”
My gaze darted to the liquid splattered on the floor and then to the flask. Both looked exactly the same.
“Why would the assassins attack you?” I asked.
“They want me dead, because I’m the only person on Mount Fornax capable of curing this so-called plague.”
Chapter 14
My throat flexed. If the troll was right, what did that mean? Evolene sent me an equally confused look. She raised a shoulder as if to say she would trust my judgment on whatever I decided about Master Jesper. The troll’s eyes, gray orbs set within a wrinkled face, seemed earnest enough, but then villains wouldn’t get very far with faces that communicated evil intentions.
I wanted to believe the troll. By now, Roseate might have convinced those witches that my blood was the key to curing the plague. There was no telling if they would experiment on me. A shudder ran down my spine at the thought of being captured for any kind of research. Master Jesper’s intelligence, strength, and magical prowess would be helpful, but trusting someone with its history seemed foolish.
“All the trouble started with your largomorphus rex,” I said.
“A coincidence,” it replied.
“No.”
Master Jesper pulled the edges of its cloak together. “Or someone took advantage of their arrival to frame me for the plague.”
“If you can turn rabbits into giant marsupials, you can create a plague that can spread from dragons to ogre hybrids.”
The troll shook its head. “In all my days of experimentation, I have yet to create a disease that crossed such differing species.”
“You’ve just admitted to experimenting on people!” cried Evolene.
“I’m being honest! We trolls did atrocious things under the command of the Snow Queen, but we know differently now. Why would I want to harm Queen Cendrilla’s dragon allies?”
Everything Master Jesper said made sense, but something deep inside told me not to trust a creature with such an atrocious history. I walked over to where one of the arrows lay on the ground and picked up one of the crossbow bolts. “Now I have two effective weapons against you if you try anything.”
“I have no intentions of betraying your trust.”
“Give it back the staff,” I said to Evolene.
Evolene hovered the magical implement over to Master Jesper, who picked it out of the air with a polite murmur of thanks.
“We’ve got to get General Thornicroft to the Healer’s Academy,” I said. “I’ll take up the rear, and you’ll be in the middle, carrying him with your magic.”
The troll’s brows drew together. “We ought to leave him here. I can create a secure ward that no one could penetrate.”
“No, we all go together. You’re going to cure the plague as promised. Then Dr. Duclair will need to see to General Thornicroft straight away.”
It raised a bulky shoulder. “As you wish.”
“Evolene, you know the interior best. Can you show us a route that avoids skylights?”
With a nod, she walked around the perimeter of the office and opened the door leading into the reception area. I gestured for the troll to follow after her. Master Jesper hesitated a few seconds longer than necessary, then pointed its staff at General Thornicroft’s healing bubble, raising it off the floor. Then it shuffled forward a few steps, glancing up at the ceiling as if a new skylight would materialize out of nowhere.
We stepped into the reception area. Evolene kept close to the wall, the furthest points away from the skylights. Master Jesper and I followed. By now, the clouds had thickened and turned the color of steel, an occurrence unusual for Steppe.
I peered up and caught a glimpse of a slow-moving figure in black.
“He’s still up there,” I hissed. “Can you use your magic?”
Master Jesper shook its head. “I-I no longer use this power to hurt others.”
Sweat broke out across my brow. That comment could mean two things: either the troll had forsaken its macabre past, or the assassin was actually its ally and it was tricking us into an ambush. I closed my hands around the trollsbane-tipped bolt and the Parched Sword, ready in case Master Jesper turned around and attacked.
We reached the door that led to the hallway, and I turned to Master Jesper. “Change of plan. You go first, and Evolene will transport General Thornicroft.”
The troll’s eyes rounded. “Why?”
“Because I still don’t trust you,” I snapped.
“That’s a long stretch of hallway with nowhere to hide from the skylights,” it whispered. “We have no idea how many assassins are standing on the roof.”
“Hold the door, then. We’ll see how whoever’s up there reacts to movement.” I picked up a chair and threw it across the hallway.
Something made of glass dropped from the skylight, smashed on the ground, and burst into three-foot-tall, orange flames. Black smoke billowed out of the fire, filling the hallway.
“What in the Known World is this?” I spat.
“Oh, dear,” said Master Jesper. “We’d better—”
BOOM!
A balloon of fire expanded from the explosion. Smoke-tinged flames accelerated toward us through the hallway, revealing glimpses of the explosion’s white-hot core.
With a noisy gasp, I leaped back.
Master Jesper caught me in his thick arms, just as Evolene erected a translucent, magical barrier. “Are you all right, Cadet Bluford?”
My ears rang, muffling the troll’s words. “I-I’m fine!”
Evolene’s lips moved, but I couldn’t catch what she said. I blinked several times, letting the haze of shock fall away.
“Are you sure you didn’t inhale anything? You don’t look very well.”
I rubbed my aching temples. “It was just a bit of a surprise.”
Master Jesper set me on my feet. “Be careful. Loud noises can upset the fluids in the inner ear, affecting one’s balance.”
My insides cringed with suspicion. Had the troll discovered that by performing experiments on unsuspecting witches? I shook off those thoughts. That explosion would have caught us all, if Master Jesper hadn’t acted so skittish. So far, the troll seemed more concerned with preserving its own life than with scheming against us. Even if I didn’t trust that it didn’t start the plague, I could trust it not to betray us until we’d escaped the assassins.
“There’s a hidden tunnel under Father’s office,” said Evolene in a sad whisper.
“Where does it lead?”
She ducked her head. “To Madam Maritimus’ office and an opening between the Great Lake and the Healer’s Academy.”
Warm hope sprang in my chest. It would be a short sprint across the lawn once we resurfa
ced. “Can you find the entrance to the tunnel in the dark?”
“Yes.” She cocked her head to one side. “Why?”
“There’s a skylight in Mr. Jankin’s office. I don’t want them dropping explosives on us in such a confined space.”
“Excellent observation, Cadet Bluford!” whispered Master Jesper. “May I also suggest a combination of invisibility enchantment and sound muffling?”
I turned to Evolene. “Can you do those?”
She pointed her staff at the ceiling, creating a canopy of light which fell down on us like a collapsed tent. Everything tingled, and I stomped on the ground to test for footsteps, but the soles of my feet met cushioned air.
“Excellent work, Madam Evolene! May I ask under whom you apprenticed?”
“I taught myself,” she murmured.
Master Jesper opened its mouth, presumably to shower Evolene with compliments, but I raised a quelling hand. “Can we save the chatter until we get General Thornicroft to the Healer’s Academy?”
Eyes widening, the troll clapped a hand over its mouth in the kind of gesture young witches used when wanting to look cute while saying ‘oops.’
I turned to Master Jesper. “Behave yourself while we’re traveling through the dark passages, and only use that staff for transporting General Thornicroft, or—”
“You will burn me to ashes. Yes, your pyromaniac threats have not slipped my memory. However, I would like to cast some exploratory enchantments over this office to ensure there are no hidden explosives.”
“All right.”
Evolene turned out all the lights, plunging the reception area into complete darkness. Then a second lot of power flared from Master Jesper’s staff, creating a bubble of magic that encased the four of us, proving scant illumination.
“My apologies, Cadet, for not clearing this additional enchantment with you,” the troll murmured. “It is a localized light to prevent us from bumping into furniture and alerting our foes of our location.”
I clenched my teeth. The troll had defied me on purpose! “Ask before casting any more spells, or you’ll have more than the assassins wanting you dead.”
It inclined its head. “I understand.” General Thornicroft and his yellow healing bubble rose off the ground. “May I suggest we leave now, before our pursuers come in to investigate what caused the lack of lights?”
Dragon Mage Academy Box Set Page 57